Elastic attachment for saddle girths, stirrup leathers, bridles, and various other articles



March 31. 1925.

H. M LEAN ELASTIC ATTAGHIENT FOR SADDLE GIRTHS, STIRHUP LEATHERS,

BRIDLES. AND VARIOUS OTHER ARTICLES Filed Sept. 24, 1923 aw. M/i/Zz'amfin Patented Mar. 131, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM H. MCLEAN, OF MALVTERN, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

ELASTIC ATTACHMENT FOR SADDLE GIRTHS, sTrnRUr LEATHERS, BaInLEs, AND

V VARIOUS OTHER ARTICLES.

Application filed September 24, 1923. Serial No. 664,530. I i

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY McLnAN, asubject of the King of Great Britainand Ireland, and a resident of thecity of Malvern, a suburb of the city of Melbourne, in the county ofBourke, Stateof Victoria,'Commonwealth of Australia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in and connected with ElasticAttachments for Saddle Girths, Stirrup Leathers, Bridles, and variousother articles, of which the following is a specification.-

This invention relates to an improved elastic unit for attachment tosaddle girths, surcingles, stirrup leathers, bridles, driving andleading reins, trotting hobbles, harness, and various other articles ofan analogous nature, particularly saddlery and harness fittings, whereinit is desirable to impart an elastic effect to the ordinarily inelasticarticle. 1

As an example of a further analogous use of the invention it may beinserted in machinery belting to take up the slack frequently caused bythe stretching of such belting. Other like purposes to which theinvention may be applied will be hereinaftermore'readily apparent.

Various elastic deviceshave hitherto been proposed for saddle girths,surcingles, and the like such as by the insertion therein of sections ofelastic webbing or springs. Such previous devices have however possesseddisadvantages, as for instance the liability of rupture through rottingand breaking of the stitches by which the elastic sections are insertedin the girth. Furthermore the article has required special manufacturefor the insertion of the elastic sections, the cost of constructionbeing thus increased. In addition the elastic fabric or webbing materialusually employed in such previous devices, soon loses its elasticity andcannot easily'be renewed except by stitching a new section or sectionsin place. 1

.In the case of thesp-rings hitherto employed there have been-obviousdisadvantages such as their weight, cost and discomfort to the animaland also'their liability to deterioration by continual use. The objectof the'pres ent invention is to provide an improved elastic attachmentfor purposes of the kind indicated, which is extrendy simple,inexpensive and, durable i construction and may be readily placed in itsoperative position and detached for re newal or other purposes whendesired.

Moreover the improved'device constitutes a" separate and compactattachment unit which may be made and sold independently and calls forno constructional alteration of the existing article to which it is tobe applied.

Referring to the drawings which form part of this specification f Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved elastic attachment.

Figure Qis a longitudinal section thereof. a Figure 3 1s a plan of thedevice, a portion of-the endless elastic band beingbroken away. j Figure4 is a perspective view showing two of the elastic attachment units inaccordance with the invention, applied to a saddle girth, having twoterminal straps. The saddle flaps are indicated in broken lines. r

Figure-5 shows a single elasticunit in accordance with the inventionapplied to a similar saddle girth. i Figure 5 is a fragmentary viewshowing another method of inserting the elastic device ina saddle girth.

Figure 6 illustrates theinvention applied to a surcingle or body rollerused for securing horse rugs or the like in position.

. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate alternative modes of applying the inventionto a bridle or driving rein.

Figure 9 shows the invention applied to a stirrup leather or strap.

Figure 10 is a side View of Figure 9.

Figure 11 shows an'alternative method of inserting. the invention in astirrup strap.

A device in accordance with the invention comprises an endless band orloop 2 of elastic material preferably rubber. This band .may be of anydesired size according to the purpose to which it is to be applied andmay be quickly and v economically 0,01

st'ructed by cutting a rubber tube, for, in-

stance a disused motor tyre tube, transversely into a number ofsections, each of which sections forms one of the endlesselastic bandsin accordance with the invention.

Attached to each said electric loop aretwo links or eyelet members 3 ofmetal or other jormed by pending a length of Wire into the suitablematerial which may be conveniently 'may be moved freely around therubber band so that their positions may be altered in the event of therubberbecoming worn or damaged atparticular points owing to continuedengagement at such pointsof the links through which the strain isimparted to the elastic element as hereinafter indicatedf I In applyingthe invention to, a saddle girth 7 as in Figures 4 and 5, one of thelinks 7 or eyelets 3 on the elastic band or loop 2 may be attached tothe saddle. 8 beneath the saddle flaps 9 and where the girth straps 11are usually connected to the saddle, This at tachment of elasticalnit orunits tothe sa'd-.

dle may be effected, for instance by tabs 12 of leather, fabric or thelike folded back or looped through the respective link 3 and stitchedasat 13 to the saddle. Other suitable attachment means may however beemployed. In fastening the saddleon the animal. the terminal strap orstraps 11 of the girth are looped through the other link or links 3 ofthe elastic unit or units and"'fas-.

tened by theirbuckles 14 in the usual manner. Instead of attaching thedevice to the terminal straps 11' as abovementioned, it may be insertedat any suitablepoint inthe girth band 7, as indicated in-Figure 5 whichshowsthe girth band divided and the ends of the sections looped throughthe links 3 and secured as at 10. 7

Similarly in applying. the device to a surcingle, body roller, or likeband used for such purposes as securing rugs tohorses, the device maybeattached as in Figure 6 by means of a looped tab 16 passing throughon'e'of the links or eyelets 3, the tab being stitched as at 17 to oneend of the surcingle band 18. In passing the latter aroundthe animal,the usual terminal strap (or straps) 19 of the band is looped throughthe other link 3 of the elastic attachment and then tightened andfastened by the buckle 21- in the 'usual manner. i a

In applying the invention to a bridle or driving rein, each bridle orrein. strap. 23

may bedivided and folded back or looped through th'el links 13 of thedevice as indicated at 24 in Figure 7, the folded portions of the strapbeing secured by stitches 25 or other suitable means. The end of thestrap 23is inthis case passed through the respectiveQril ig26 oftlie bit27 and fastened by th'efbu'ckle 28in the usual manner- Altern ativelyone of the endless elastic bands 2 maybepas'sed through each-bit ring 26and folded.back upon itself 0r doubled as in Fig As seen in Figures 9,10 and ll, the invention may be similarly applied to stirrup straps sothat the shock caused by the rider standing up. inthe stirrups,.as forinstance when pulling'up suddenly or jumping, will be absorbed by theelastic members with con.- siderable advantage tO-bOtll the rider andthe animal." In Figures?) and 10, the elastic device is shown as applied:by-foldingor doubling the rubberband-2 .so that it passes throughtheeyelet opening 29 0f the stirrup, and the links 3'- are disposedvopposite and adjacent each other to receive the lower portion of thestirrup strap 31;: In this case, the links 3 may be attached to therubber bandv 2 after the latter has been passed through the stirrupopeningl29, by slipping the, edge of the rubber bandthrough the openmouths40f the links.= The-end of the strap 31 is then passed throughthe. oppositely disposed links and fastened by the usual buckle 30.Alternatively, the invention may be applied to the stirrupstrap 31 as inFigure 11 which showsthe strap dividedfzand V It will. be evident.thatby foldingv or; v doubling the elastic member: 2 as: illustrated inFigures 8, 9 and 10, its resistance to dis tention will be increased As,however, the degree of elasticity is governed primarily by the thicknessand-.Width of the rubber band, the size of the latter may vary inaccordance with particular. requirements.

-As examples of the application ofthe invention to harness for draughtpurposes one, or more of the elastic attachments'may be inserted, forinstance-,; in the reins, the traces, or the girth straps of the harnesssaddle to impart the desired elasticity thereto. 7 V I It will 'beevident from the foregoing that the mode of attaching, the invention mayvary for different articles, but in all cases the links 3 provide thenecessary means for connecting the elastic member to the desired object.Theimproved device has the distinct. advantagethat the endless rubber orensu band 2 may be; readily removed for renewal or other purposes bypassing. itthrough the open mouths .4 of the links. 3. Furthermore", theelastic member is capable of free sliding movement through the linksv sothat byaltering the .positionof}v the latter the wear on the rubber atits points of contact with the links, may be distributed around theband.

It is to be understood that the various practical adaptations of theinvention above described and illustrated in the drawings, are givenmerely by way of example and not in a limiting sense, the improveddevice being capable of application to other analogous uses,particularly in connection with harness and Saddlery fittings, Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A harness strap of inextensible material,having included in it an extensible unit comprising two spaced,elongated end links through which the adjacent portions of the strap areloosely passed, and an end less elastic band connecting the links andalso loosely engaged therewith; said links having open mouths to enablethe band to be moved edgewise therethrough incidental to its attachmentto or removal from the links.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a leather harness strap adapted tobe passed around the body of a horse and having a buckle for adjustablysecuring its ends to gether; said strap having included in it anextensible unit comprising a pair of end links through which theadjacent portions of the strap are loosely passed, each link consistingof a single length of wire bent to form an elongated loop, the two endsof the wire being left a slight distance apart to thereby provide anopen mouth, and an endless elastic band connecting said links and alsoloosely engaged therewith and adapted to be moved edgewise through saidmouths incidental to its attachment to or removal from the links.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

W. H. 'MoLEAN.

Witness VICTOR J. KzensoN.

